Living free, BY beth moore

It’s the last gathering of the Spring Spark group session!

Whew! You made it! Thanks so much for serving your Spark group so well over the last 7 weeks. You made phone calls, sent texts and e-mails, cleaned up before group… and then again after, made gallons of coffee, prayed with women and prayed for women. Some of you raised up new leaders, most of you made an impact for Christ in the lives of the women you lead that you won’t even know about this side of heaven. We hope and pray that you have stories upon stories of how you’ve watched women grow in their relationship with Christ; living more free and learning to pray God’s word. YOU are amazing and we’re so incredibly thankful for you!

The surprise is here! We are officially rolling out RIGHT NOW MEDIA, and it starts with you!

RIGHT NOW MEDIA IS THE NETFLIX OF VIDEO BIBLE STUDIES! IT HAS OVER 10,000 VIDEOS, INCLUDING CATEGORIES LIKE...

marriage and parenting

men and women

faith at work and leadership

Christian living

Biblical finance

over 2,000 Christian cartoons for kids!

and TONS more!

And, you can access Right Now Media on your desktop, phone or tablet (iOS / Android), and even Roku Stick/Apple TV! And it’s all free!

OUR HOPE IS THAT RIGHT NOW MEDIA WILL BE AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR YOU, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR GROUPS THIS SUMMER AND BEYOND.

Right Now Media our gift to you, completely FREE! You should have already received an email invite on Thursday, June 2 - just create your free account form that email, and you are ready to start! Download the app from your iOS or Android App Store, and start streaming right away. If you don’t think you received an email invite, let me know - I will make sure you get a new one right away!

And... make sure to let your group know that they received invites as well! This tool is for everyone at Mission!

THE GOAL THIS SUMMER

We are officially "on break" from groups until early fall. Summer is a great chance for leaders and hosts to rest, which is the main reason for the long break! But summer is also a unique opportunity to help us work toward our goal:

Summer is a great time to connect with group members in creative ways and strengthen the bonds you've worked hard to create.

I say "creative" because simply put... you know your group best! I want you as group leaders to feel the freedom to use the summer time (and other "breaks" throughout the year) to meet in whatever way you think will help your group move toward each other and toward God.

Here are some ideas of what that might look like!

PARTY TOGETHER

Does your group love spending time together? Do they love doing life together? Keep that momentum going! Use things like July 4th, graduations, weekends, or just beautiful weather to spend unfiltered time together, learning more about each other's lives. Never underestimate the power of having fun together!

SERVE TOGETHER

Serving together is a powerful tool for connecting! And there are lots of easy ways to do it:

Volunteer together at Free Friday Flicks!

Find a group member's friend that needs some practical help, and make it happen!

See if anyone in the group is connected to an organization that could use some help!

MEET TOGETHER

For many groups, some structured meetings over a few consecutive weeks is a great option! You can do that in a few different ways:

Right Now Media! :: Pick a topic that intrigues everyone, find a video series that covers it, and watch it in group! Most of them come with some questions in the video, or a study guide that you can download. It's a great chance to hone in some questions or challenges that your group members have!

Do-It-Yourself Book GroupsFind a Bible Study book that you love or are interested in, and walk through it together! I'd (Tommy) be glad to talk through options or look over a book beforehand if that would help!

We are a group of imperfect people pursuing a perfect God. We exist to help each other find and follow Christ. These are some things we want to be true of our group:

We create a safe and honest environment, staying transparent and authentic.

We keep it inside the circle. Confidentiality is necessary for a healthy group.

We look together to the Bible for help and guidance, and keep out our own politics, sales, or agendas.

We do not try to fix each other, preach sermons, or give unsolicited advice. We instead encourage, listen to, and celebrate each other.

We handle conflict between us quickly and honestly by going to the person, owning our part, and practicing forgiveness.

We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.

We trust that it is God’s role to change people, not ours.

We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.

What was your biggest takeaway from the last six weeks of studying Beth Moore’s Living Free?

Flipping through week three’s homework on “Enjoying God’s Presece,” what stuck out to you the most? Why?

From Day One, page 109... How have one or more of the first four benefits made changes in your life during the past few weeks? And page 111, Describe a time when you have enjoyed God’s presence, whether or not the circumstances were pleasant.

From Day Two, page 112... What characteristics of God do you find enjoyable? And page 114, Beth written about Satan’s accusations. What Scriptures do you have ready to pray during times of such accusation? If you don’t have a list of Scriptures, prepare one now.

Did anything in particular stick out to you on Day three? If so, what and why do you think it had an impact on you?

From Day Four, page 120... How much do you struggle with concentrating on your performance instead of God’s person?

From Day five page 124... Consider your spiritual biography. Describe how each benefit has played out in your relationship with God. (If you couldn’t think of a past example, share a goal instead).

Flip to page 126 and ask if everyone read it and if anyone has any questions. Let your group know that if anyone made the decision to become a Christian over the course of these last few weeks of meeting together that the whole group would LOVE to know so you can all celebrate together. If they don’t feel comfortable sharing the news with the whole group, then encourage them to at least tell you, as their leader or someone in your group, or a pastor or trusted Christian friend so they can be properly welcomed into God’s family! If someone does share this exciting news in group, or with you, encourage them in their new walk with Christ and pray for them. How exciting!

Our group (Kelly’s) has gotten so much out of the times of breaking up into three’s to pray. It’s amazing how much woman share when it’s only three people verses the whole group. Let’s keep this going. Break up into three’s one last time and share personal prayer requests in regards to enjoying God’s presence and ultimately, living free.

End the study on time. People can still hang out longer if you’re up for that as the host.

Click on event for more info!

Follow up with anyone who shared that they made a decision for Christ while in your group. This is huge and you might be the only one in her life who knows. Let her know about baptism the next time it comes up at Mission.